Denver’s own Brian Davidson took 3rd/4th place in the second season of “King of the Nerds” (Photo by Chris Jackson, Courtesy of Brian Davidson)

Denver’s own Brian Davidson blazed through the nerd-themed, “Survivor”-esque reality TV show, “King of the Nerds” to an impressive 3rd/4th-place finish.

Now, as Season 3 looms on TBS, he took time to talk to me about what’s new — and gave his two cents to future contestants and his fellow nerds.

Hugh Johnson: So you made it quite far in “King of the Nerds.” What are you doing now? How are things going?

Brian Davidson: Things are pretty well. I forget if I even had mentioned it on the show but I’m in library school right now. You know, I was the book nerd, and so I have been in library school in Illinois. Much to my happiness, I’m able to finish it up this fall online, which means I get to be back in Denver, which is not as far as Illinois. I’m still in touch with perhaps all the other nerds and I’ve been intermittently on Twitter and whatnot and I enjoy interacting with people when I have a chance, which is unfortunately not so much.

When Jaymen Johnson attended previous comic cons in Colorado and Arizona, he managed his sci-fi schedule around his cannabis calendar.

“We would smoke in the hotel before we left, and then we’d get high in the parking lot when we got there, and then we’d find different places around the comic con’s halls to get high while we were there,” said Johnson, owner of the Speak Easy Vape Lounge in Colorado Springs.

It was exhausting, Johnson said. And the conundrum got him thinking: “What if there was a comic con in the same vein of those events that was cannabis-friendly?”

And so Chromic Con was born: A con for the chronic set, debuting at three marijuana lounges in Denver and Colorado Springs on Sept. 13 with special appearances, artist signings, live music and plenty of cosplay.

Ryan Green of Loveland is turning the tragedy of his son’s death into a tribute in the form of a unique video game titled That Dragon, Cancer. Although players won’t be saving princesses after battling the fire-breathing creatures traditional to fantasy, this journey isn’t any less fulfilling.

That Dragon, Cancer is Green’s way of memorializing his 5-year-old son, Joel, who passed away in March after battling a series of Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumors or AT/RTs . He was diagnosed when he was 1. That Dragon, Cancer chronicles the questions, thoughts and feelings of Green’s family of six as Joel goes through nine rounds of radiation therapy and battles at least seven tumors.

The game is being developed by a team of five people and is scheduled for release for the Ouya system later this year. Green and his team presented a demo of That Dragon, Cancer at this year’s Denver Comic Con.

Denver Comic Con attendees play Rock Band in the arcade lounge (Hugh Johnson, The Denver Post)

Come one, come all. From the thrill of live-action roleplay to the intense strategy of Settlers of Catan to the sweat-inducing button mashing of Killer Instinct on the Xbox One, there was something for every kind of gamer at this year’s Denver Comic Con.

According to Chris Abbey, the Con’s director of gaming, the plan from the get-go was to make sure that the arcade lounge and gaming-dedicated rooms covered every activity associated with the word “gamer.” Last year, he said, some 50 percent of attendees identified as gamers.

DCC 2013’s outing featured three rooms dedicated to gaming. This year the space was nearly tripled with eight rooms dedicated to games, and an arcade lounge soundtracked by gamers playing Rock Band.

Yes, gamers got the opportunity to team up with their friends, select a band name and perform classic titles like Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son” in front of a relaxing audience in costume. Some were amazing, and others should probably keep their day jobs, but it was still fun to rock out to songs like Blink 182’s “I Miss You.”

No other show had quite the impact on my life before I started watching “Doctor Who” a few years ago. I watched all five new Who seasons (the only ones available on Netflix at the time) in less than a month. I grew attached to David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor and cursed at my laptop screen each time a Dalek appeared. Doctor Who became an important part of my life.

Needless to say, I knew I had to go to the “Life Lessons from The Doctor” session at Denver Comic Con last Sunday. I wondered what they would talk about. I sat in the audience and listened to the panelists — Heather Maloney, Michelle Talkington and Kerri Sharner of WhoGirls.net — discuss the different lessons the Doctor taught them. As they talked about how the Doctor teaches you to be yourself, how to be kind and about non-violence, I wondered what the Doctor taught me.

Zac and Mindy Conley, owners of The Hall of Justice Comic and Entertainment Art Gallery, were looking forward to relaxing after a successful weekend at the convention. Those plans were soon thwarted after a thief broke into their car and made off with a cash box full of weekend earnings and more.

For small gallery owners trying to get their business off the ground, this theft not only ruined their weekend, but also put the studio at risk of closing.

“We were intending to use this money for our rent for home, our rent for this studio and to secure a booth for next year’s Denver Comic Con, and now we can’t. It’s all gone,” Zac said.

A fan in a very detailed costume (Photo By Hugh Johnson/The Denver Post)

Denver Comic Con is a marathon of comics, heroes, costumes, toys, games and, of course, walking.

The Colorado Convention Center looks big from the outside, sure, but it is massive on the inside. It took me the better part of an hour to get acclimated to the immensity of the convention. Two days and a couple blisters later, I explored the vast realm of Comic Con in an attempt to tell other con newbies what it’s like.

This year was Mariah Stewart-Shelafo’s first Denver Comic Con. Her family enjoys Doctor Who, Firefly and Star Trek, so they figured a trip to DCC would be the perfect Father’s Day gift. After seeing a few panels featuring Doctor Who’s Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy, and a Whedonverse panel about all things Joss Whedon, Stewart-Shelafo was astonished by the fan art.

“All of the vendors and the original artwork just really blew me away,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to see so much original artwork here and it’s all really good.”

She reveled in the experience and plans to return next year in full costume.

Rather than ask what you can do at Comic Con, it might be easier to ask what you can’t do.

From Left to Right: Tony Fleecs, a moderator dressed as Applejack, Thom Zahler and Jeremy Whitley (Photo By Hugh Johnson/The Denver Post)

Whether you’re two or 20 Denver Comic Con has something for everyone. The same can be said of Hasbro’s “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” which has gathered a diverse base of fans old and young.

The writers and artists of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book were at the convention to give fans some insight into bronies, how they manage to please their variety of fans and the importance of these comics as a gateway to the comic book world for new, young readers. The panel included Katie Cook, Andy Price, Tony Fleecs, Thom Zahler and Jeremy Whitley.

Much like an animated series to a popular Disney movie, these comics expand on the adventures of the six ponies featured in the show and give a little more spotlight to minor characters in the television series. Also, the comics have a micro-series that focuses on individual characters.

Set in the colorful, vibrant world of Equestria, My Little Pony focuses on the adventures of six ponies who embody the heart-warming traits of magic, loyalty, kindness, generosity, honesty and laughter. Surprisingly, or better yet unexpectedly, 20-something males have grown fond of the series, spawning a sect of MLP fans known as bronies.

The Baron of B-Movies himself, Bruce Campbell, took a few minutes to talk to Shiny Objects after a panel at Denver Comic Con 2014. Now that Burn Notice has ended its run, we asked what was next for the man with the best hair in the business, and a lot of other things.

Does Campbell miss the show he starred in for seven years now that it has wrapped?

“No, not at first,” he says. “We haven’t had a spring in seven years.” For seven seasons of Burn Notice, filming started in March and ended too late for Campbell to enjoy the spring air at his home in Ashland, Ore.

Never without a project, though, Campbell said he will star in a mid-season pickup on NBC called “Mission Control” from producers Will Farrell and Adam McKay. Campbell says the show as “basically like Mad Men with jokes.”

“It’s great to do comedy again,” he said. Set in 1963, the show is a humorous take on the early days of the space race.